Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy Leader for setting out the Order of Business. I am happy to accept it.

To touch on the theme to which Senator Gallagher referred in the context of TidyTowns and tidy districts, I make an appeal for all of us, with our political connections, regarding the winding down of restrictions and the reopening of society. I acknowledge the importance of opening businesses, doing business and trading and the suggestion that it will be an outdoor summer. I understand that. Even today, the weather is fabulous. One could see the number of people around Dublin city during the first two hours of trading this morning. It is important. I walked through Dublin city yesterday and it was trashed from South Great George's Street over to Wicklow Street and the back of Grafton Street. The thing that I came across most was tourists visiting this country using their phones to video the filth and dirt, the human excrement, the urine, the food, the cans, the bottles and the slabs of beer. People were rightly angry. I met a number of people who suggested that the council workers should have been out. They should not have been out at that hour of the morning. We, as citizens, have to take some responsibility for what is happening in our city. I heard reports about Limerick, Waterford, Wexford and Cork. It was atrocious when I turned on the news last night to see it.

I spoke with the city manager, Owen Keegan, yesterday. What came of our brief conversation on the phone about Dublin city was that we need to be clear that it is an offence to drink in a public place in Dublin city, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and many other places and that there should be no mixed messages from Government about trading out. There are by-laws. Who enforces them? Council officials will tell you that they do not want to confront people. I understand that, especially where alcohol is involved. An Garda Síochána does not have the necessary resources and has to maintain a balance. This is all about a balanced approach. It is about people coming out of lockdown. Those people are our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters and family members. They are a disgrace and we have to take responsibility for them.

I ask the Deputy Leader that there be a public campaign in the next two or three days before we line up for next weekend. Hopefully, it will be a fabulous weekend. I am not a killjoy but I do not like to see people having to navigate the trash and the dirt, and the disrespect for our county and city officials and the workers who go out and have to clean up. The campaign has to be about people taking responsibility for their own actions and taking alcohol containers or whatever it is away. If they must use it, then drink it and take it away. People should clean up after themselves. What happened sends a terrible message to our citizens. We cannot have a recurrence in Dublin city of what happened at the weekend.